Carl Th. Dreyer: My Métier

Not knowing a lot about Dreyer or his films, I took the opportunity to watch this feature-length documentary on his life and work when I rented the BFI version of his 1925 silent film Master of the House. Having now watched it I've got to say that I've only really got a cursory knowledge of the man's life, a reasonable overview of his filmography and each film's importance within it, and quite a lot of insignificant anecdotes rattling around my head from a few of the actors who once worked with him. Dreyer once gave his cameraman a pair of his shoes that pinched his feet; he didn't like people holding doors open for him so that they were then standing behind him, etc. Interesting little snippets, but Danish people seem to talk so very slowly that these mostly pointless anecdotes take up too much screen time. The readings of Dreyer's own words are probably the most interesting and informative part of the film, but they are too sparsely scattered between more pedestrian fare.

This documentary is about a legendary director, Carl Theodor Dreyer. Although he was a far from prolific man (he only directed about a dozen features in his long career), he is hailed by some as one of the greatest directors of all time--with films like "The Passion of Joan of Arc", "Vampyr" and "Ordet" to his directorial credits.

Let's be honest here--most people today have no idea WHO Carl Theodor Dreyer was nor would they be interested in his films. Now I am not saying they are bad, but lovers of silent cinema and Danish films are not exactly easy to find. He's a beloved figure among film snobs and film students--and these are exactly the folks I'd recommend the documentary for and not most others. In addition to this, I should point out that this documentary is well made (I was shocked at all the great interviews they've done and assembled) but it also is rather boring after a while--especially towards the end. It could have definitely used an infusion of more energy.

Criterion's starting to anger me with these little (and, with this one, big) documentaries that they are putting on so many of their DVDs nowadays. Well, they don't really bother me, per se. It's just how Criterion is doing it. Take their L'Avventura DVD - all of the extras could have easily fit on a single DVD if it weren't for the 50 minute documentary that they decided to include. Because of it, they added another disc to the case and thus charged more. And that documentary is particularly poor; it hardly talks about Antonioni's films at all, but rather does nothing but praise the heck out of him (it does, however, have a very rare and valuable deleted scene from L'Avventura; I would have rather just had that scene extracted into its own extra on a single DVD).

My Métier certainly doesn't deserve its own case and spine number. This is the first time they did it, and I hope to God they don't do it again. They should have just slapped it on the Day of Wrath DVD, since that film is only a little over 90 minutes long. To give it its own spine number raises it to the level of the other three films in the box set, which is basically an insult to Carl Dreyer; everything which is said in praise of him in the documentary doesn't end up negating that initial insult.

My Métier is not as bad as the Antonioni documentary. It does contain useful and interesting information. But its purpose is little more than biographical and laudatory. There are a lot of clips of interviews with the few actors and cinematographers who worked with him and are still alive. The information they give is a lot like what you would hear on a director's or actors' commentary track on a DVD - interesting, maybe, but of little importance. More useful are the read-aloud excerpts from Dreyer's own writings (there's a great quotation about Dreyer's feelings for the French New Wave, along with clips of him meeting with Truffaut, Godard, and Anna Karina, who had only a couple of years below played a woman named Dreyer in Le petit soldat and who could be seen weeping over The Passion of Joan of Arc in Vivre sa vie). What is sorely lacking is any actual analysis of the films themselves. As Dreyer himself said, and as the film itself quotes him as saying (and then cursorily ignores), he is not the main point of interest, but it is his films which are. Well, he IS of importance. In fact, I'll even complain that the biographical information in the film is lacking. The only information that they really give is for the period between The Passion of Joan of Arc and Gertrud. The film says nothing about the fate of his mother, who had to give him up and later died when trying to give herself an abortion. This is key to understanding Dreyer's prevailing themes, yet it is wholly ignored. Getting back to his films, his early ones are almost completely ignored. Except for a catalogue and a couple of scenes from his hardly-seen second film Leaves of Satan's Book (there are a couple of great scenes excerpted from this film). The Passion of Joan of Arc probably gets more time than any other film (well, it is his best film, IMO). Vampyr is barely discussed at all. This is disappointing, since it is probably the only film of his that I've seen with which I was disappointed. I would like to see it defended or examined. Day of Wrath, Ordet, and Gertrud get about equal time, and Two People, a very rare film which he made in the late 40s, is very rudely dismissed as "his biggest flop." Perhaps it is, but that's all the more reason to discuss it. I've read elsewhere that Dreyer was embarrassed at it and that he begged the Danish Film Institute not to show it at retrospectives, but an artist's failures are nearly as important as his hits, no matter how that artist feels about them (btw, of all the films he did get made, only The Passion of Joan of Arc and Ordet weren't "flops," which is why it's taken over 30 years for Gertrud to be seen in the US for a second time; Two People is his only sound film that is allowed to remain a flop). Even "They Caught the Ferry," a short film Dreyer made for the government to promote drivers' safety, gets about a dozen times more attention.

About the style of the documentary itself, it tries really hard to be artistic. It should be much more restrained than it is. The director seems to have sat in a room and watched Errol Morris' films, particularly The Thin Blue Line, over and over again. The film's pseudo-Philip Glass score becomes irritating almost immediately. Really, this should have been an extra, not its own DVD. For comparison, check out the extra documentaries which are included on the DVDs of the Eisenstein box set. Now THOSE are useful.

All In all, I enjoyed this film of Carl TH Dryer, showcasing his many films and talents of this director. The big problem I had with "Carl Dreyer: My Meiter" is the fact the film focuses on films we hardly care about, (Ordet? Gertrud?) and less on films like Vampyr and Passion Of Joan of Arc. I mean, it was nice that we showcased the lead actress of Joan of Arc somewhat, but I am not too sure why this film had scant attention focused on it. There were hardly any clips! Same with Vampyr, probably the most atmospheric vampire movie ever made! There was very VERY little coverage of this amazing movie. I mean, who played the Vampire? This was one of the first Vampire movies ever put out! Lots of info that could have been revealed! But nooo, they had to explain further the acting choices of the Ordet cast. I mean who cares?

The biography of the Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer is beautifully pictured in black and white in this stylish and awarded documentary since when he was born. I personally have only seen the awesome "La Passion de Jeanne Passion de Jeanne d'Arc" (1928) and "Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey" (1932) from his filmography, therefore this documentary enlightened me about his latest productions outside France, which have recently been released on DVD in Brazil. With footages of his movies and interview with cast and crew that worked with him, the viewer can have a summary of the life of Carl Th. Dreyer. There are, among others, the testimony of the behavior and skill of Dreyer through the words of Hélène Falconetti, the daughter of René Jeanne Falconetti, the actress of "La Passion de Jeanne Passion de Jeanne d'Arc", Lisbeth Movie, actress of "Vredens Dag"; Preben Lerdorff Rye, actor of "Vredens Dag" and "Ordet"; Baard Owe, actor of "Gertrud"; Birgitte Federspiel, actress of "Ordet"; Henning Bendtsen, the photographer of "Ordet" and "Gertrud". My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Radiografia da Alma" ("Radiography of the Soul")